Arcana Coelestia # 4835
4835. 'Come [in] to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her' means that this - that representative of the Church - might be continued. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming (or going in) to a brother's wife and performing the duty of a husband's brother to her' as preserving and continuing that which constitutes the Church. The requirement laid down in the Mosaic Law, that if a man died without issue his brother was to marry his widow and raise up seed for his brother, and that the firstborn was to receive his dead brother's name, whereas all other sons were to be his own, was called the duty of a brother-in-law. The fact that this directive was nothing new in the Jewish Church but a practice already in existence is clear from the words used here; and the same goes for many other directives given to the Israelites through Moses, such as the law forbidding them to take wives from the daughters of the Canaanites and requiring them to marry within their own families, Genesis 24:3-4; 28:1-2. From these and many other examples it is evident that a Church had existed previously in which the same kind of practices were followed as those at a later time which were declared to and demanded of the sons of Jacob. Altars and sacrifices likewise had been in use since ancient times, as is evident from Genesis 8:20-21; 22:3, 7-8. From this it is plain that the Jewish Church was not a new Church but a revival of the Ancient Church which had perished.
[2] What the law regarding the duty of a brother-in-law had been is clear in Moses,
If brothers dwell together but one of them dies, and has no son, the wife of the dead one shall not marry a stranger outside [the family]; her brother-in-law shall go in to her, and take her to himself as his wife, and so perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her. Then it will happen, that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, so that his name is not wiped out from Israel. But if the man is unwilling to take his sister-in-law, his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate to the elders, and she shall say, My brother-in-law refuses to raise up for his brother a name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him; and if he stands and says, I do not desire to take her, his sister-in-law shall go up to him in the sight of the elders, and she shall remove his shoe from upon his foot and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, So will it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. Therefore his name will be called in Israel, The house of him who has his shoe taken off. Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
[3] Anyone who does not know what the duty of a brother-in-law represents inevitably believes that the practice existed solely for the sake of preserving a name and consequently an inheritance. But the preservation of a name and an inheritance was not in itself a great enough reason why a brother should have been required to enter into a marriage with his sister-in-law. Rather, the practice was ordained so that the preservation and continuation of the Church might be represented through it. For a marriage represented the marriage of good and truth, which is the heavenly marriage. It therefore represented the Church too, for the Church is a Church by virtue of the marriage of good and truth, and when this marriage exists within it the Church makes one with heaven, which is the true heavenly marriage. And because a marriage represented these things, 'sons and daughters' were therefore representations and also meaningful signs of truths and goods. This being so, 'being without issue' meant a lack of good and truth, and so meant that no representative of the Church existed in that house any longer, and that as a consequence it was not in communion with the Church. In addition 'brother' represented a kindred good to which the truth represented by a widow might be joined. For to be the kind of truth that has life, produces fruit, and thereby continues that which constitutes the Church, truth cannot be joined to any other good but that which is its own and a kindred one. This was how those in heaven perceived the duty of a brother-in-law.
[4] The meaning of this practice - of a sister-in-law removing the shoe from upon the foot of the man who refused to do the duty of a brother-in-law, and of her spitting in his face - was this: Anyone devoid of good and truth, external and internal, would destroy those things that constitute the Church; for 'the shoe' means that which is external, 1748, and 'the face' that which is internal, 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796. From this it is evident that 'the duty of a brother-in-law' represented the preservation and continuation of the Church. But when through the Lord's Coming representatives of internal things came to an end, that particular law was done away with. It is like a person's soul or spirit in relation to his body. A person's soul or spirit is the internal part of him and his body the external; or what amounts to the same, the soul or spirit is the true likeness of the person, whereas the body is merely a representative image of him. When a person rises again his representative image or that which is external, namely his body, is cast aside, for he is now conscious in that which is internal, namely the true likeness of him. It is also like a person who is in darkness and from there looks at things belonging to light; or what amounts to the same, like one who is in the light of the world and from there looks at things belonging to the light of heaven. For the light of the world in comparison with the light of heaven is as darkness. Within that darkness, that is, within the light of the world, things belonging to the light of heaven as they exist essentially cannot be seen, but are seen so to speak within a representative image, even as the human mind is seen in a person's face. Therefore when the light of heaven is seen in its own essential brightness, the darkness of representative images is dispelled. This was effected through the Lord's Coming.
[4835a] 'And raise up seed for your brother' means so that the Church does not perish. This is clear from the meaning of 'seed' as truth derived from good, or faith grounded in charity, dealt with in 1025, 1447, 16110, 1940, 2848, 3310, 3373, 3671. The same is also meant by the firstborn who was to succeed to the name of the dead brother, 352, 367, 2435, 3325, 3494. 'Raising up seed for a brother' means continuing that which constitutes the Church, in line with what has been stated just above in 4834, and thus means so that the Church does not perish.
1 Mose 47
1
Da kam Joseph und sagte es Pharao an und sprach: Mein Vater und meine Brüder, ihr klein und groß Vieh und alles, was sie haben, sind kommen aus dem Lande Kanaan; und siehe, sie sind im Lande Gosen.
2
Und er nahm seiner jüngsten Brüder fünf und stellete sie vor Pharao.
3
Da sprach Pharao zu seinen Brüdern: Was ist eure Nahrung? Sie antworteten: Deine Knechte sind Viehhirten, wir und unsere Väter.
4
Und sagten weiter zu Pharao: Wir sind kommen, bei euch zu wohnen im Lande; denn deine Knechte haben nicht Weide für ihr Vieh, so hart drücket die Teurung das Land Kanaan; so laß doch nun deine Knechte im Lande Gosen wohnen.
5
Pharao sprach zu Joseph: Es ist dein Vater und sind deine Brüder, die sind zu dir kommen;
6
das Land Ägypten stehet dir offen; laß sie am besten Ort des Landes wohnen, laß sie im Lande Gosen wohnen; und so du weißest, daß Leute unter ihnen sind, die tüchtig sind, so setze sie über mein Vieh.
7
Joseph brachte auch seinen Vater Jakob hinein und stellete ihn vor Pharao. Und Jakob segnete den Pharao.
8
Pharao aber fragte Jakob: Wie alt bist du?
9
Jakob sprach zu Pharao: Die Zeit meiner Wallfahrt ist hundertunddreißig Jahre; wenig und böse ist die Zeit meines Lebens und langet nicht an die Zeit meiner Väter in ihrer Wallfahrt.
10
Und Jakob segnete den Pharao und ging heraus von ihm.
11
Aber Joseph schaffte seinem Vater und seinen Brüdern Wohnung und gab ihnen ein Gut in Ägyptenland am besten Ort des Landes, nämlich im Lande Raemses, wie Pharao geboten hatte.
12
Und er versorgte seinen Vater und seine Brüder und das ganze Haus seines Vaters, einen jeglichen, nachdem er Kinder hatte.
13
Es war aber kein Brot in allen Landen; denn die Teurung war fast schwer, daß das Land Ägypten und Kanaan verschmachteten vor der Teurung.
14
Und Joseph brachte alles Geld zusammen, das in Ägypten und Kanaan funden ward um das Getreide, das sie kauften; und Joseph tat alles Geld in das Haus Pharaos.
15
Da nun Geld gebrach im Lande Ägypten und Kanaan, kamen alle Ägypter zu Joseph und sprachen: Schaffe uns Brot! Warum lässest du uns vor dir sterben, darum daß wir ohne Geld sind?
16
Joseph sprach: Schaffet euer Vieh her, so will ich euch um das Vieh geben, weil ihr ohne Geld seid.
17
Da brachten sie Joseph ihr Vieh; und er gab ihnen Brot um ihre Pferde, Schafe, Rinder und Esel. Also ernährete er sie mit Brot das Jahr um all ihr Vieh.
18
Da das Jahr um war, kamen sie zu ihm im andern Jahr und sprachen zu ihm: Wir wollen unserm HERRN nicht verbergen, daß nicht allein das Geld, sondern auch alles Vieh dahin ist zu unserm HERRN und ist nichts mehr übrig vor unserm HERRN denn nur unsere Leiber und unser Feld.
19
Warum lässest du uns vor dir sterben und unser Feld? Kaufe uns und unser Land ums Brot, daß wir und unser Land leibeigen seien dem Pharao; gib uns Samen, daß wir leben und nicht sterben, und das Feld nicht verwüste.
20
Also kaufte Joseph dem Pharao das ganze Ägypten. Denn die Ägypter verkauften ein jeglicher seinen Acker, denn die Teurung war zu stark über sie. Und ward also das Land Pharao eigen.
21
Und er teilete das Volk aus in die Städte, von einem Ort Ägyptens bis ans andere.
22
Ausgenommen der Priester Feld, das kaufte er nicht; denn es war von Pharao für die Priester verordnet, daß sie sich nähren sollten von dem Benannten, das er ihnen gegeben hatte; darum durften sie ihr Feld nicht verkaufen.
23
Da sprach Joseph zu dem Volk: Siehe, ich habe heute gekauft euch und euer Feld dem Pharao; siehe, da habt ihr Samen und besäet das Feld.
24
Und von dem Getreide sollt ihr den Fünften Pharao geben; vier Teile sollen euer sein, zu besäen das Feld, zu eurer Speise und für euer Haus und Kinder.
25
Sie sprachen: Laß uns nur leben und Gnade vor dir, unserm HERRN, finden; wir wollen gerne Pharao leibeigen sein.
26
Also machte Joseph ihnen ein Gesetz bis auf diesen Tag über der Ägypter Feld, den Fünften Pharao zu geben; ausgenommen der Priester Feld, das ward nicht eigen Pharao.
27
Also wohnete Israel in Ägypten, im Lande Gosen, und hatten es inne und wuchsen und mehreten sich sehr.
28
Und Jakob lebte siebenzehn Jahre in Ägyptenland, daß sein ganzes Alter ward hundertundsiebenundvierzig Jahre,
29
Da nun die Zeit herbeikam, daß Israel sterben sollte, rief er seinem Sohn Joseph und sprach zu ihm: Habe ich Gnade vor dir funden, so lege deine Hand unter meine Hüfte, daß du die Liebe und Treue an mir tust und begrabest mich nicht, in Ägypten;
30
sondern ich will liegen bei meinen Vätern, und du sollst mich aus Ägypten führen und in ihrem Begräbnis begraben. Er sprach: Ich will tun, wie du gesagt hast.
31
Er aber sprach: So schwöre mir! Und er schwur ihm. Da neigete sich Israel auf dem Bette zu den Häupten.
